Final Stand of the Denied
by Tabi
Summary: Glacecest. Marron and Carrot have always been aware that their relationship would be frowned upon by anybody else who knew about it, but not until Big Mama discovers their feelings do they realise the dangers they've put themselves in.


~Final Stand of the Denied~

"_It's wrong_," they would all say.

"_That's sick._"

"_That's disgusting!_"

"_How the hell can you even bear to think about something like that?!_"

On so many social levels, those things were true to think about. It was wrong, said society. You're not supposed to lust after your blood relatives, male or female. The blood still ran inside both bodies, but Marron held Carrot close and as another frustratingly slow thrust drove him deeper, neither cared. So society said that it was wrong; society be damned, society was everywhere and anywhere outside of the locked bedroom, and they had no say in the situation. Those who said it was sick had never seen Marron's subtle expressions twisted to passionate feeling, those who said it was disgusting had obviously never felt anything so intense nor powerful; when you felt something like that, you didn't argue with it. When you felt something like that and the feeling was _shared_, you especially didn't argue with it. People went their whole lives searching for The One and possibly even not finding that one person to complete their lives, to complete their bodies, to complete _themselves_... if you found that person and that person happened to be your one most treasured blood relation... was there any way to deny those feelings? If they were the _truth_, then surely...

As much as outside influence would have shouted it down as being un-natural, for the two Glacé brothers, it seemed more natural than anything else. To be close. To be closer. To be as close as they could be. To take that further. What more was it that made their relationship forbidden outside of the blood connection? Surely if it wasn't for that then people would be far more accepting of their relationship - if anything, it certainly seemed something that people would presume Marron of. When every other emotion in the spectrum ran for his brother, who could blame him for adding lust into the mix as well? Strange perhaps, but not unexpected.

The attention they got for their relationship was as surprising as it was unwelcome.

Marron held Carrot tightly, so tightly, so securely... he held Carrot tightly, but the main focus of pressure was on his hands holding his wrists over the front of Carrot's chest. He wanted his brother to be secure in his grip, but he didn't want to hold him so tightly as to hurt him... Carrot had to be secure, had to be safe, had to be comfortable.

They'd given in. Finally they'd given in. It was wrong, it was terrible, it was the one thing they shouldn't have allowed themselves to do, but... denial had worked it's pressure on the two of them for long enough. Nothing had even had to have been _said_, just a touch turned to a hug gone further, and a kiss with pain suppressed that even Marron's concern couldn't shake.

And it _had_ hurt, to kiss. Physically so. Marron hadn't felt it but he'd seen the pain that furrowed Carrot's brow far too easily, and that had been where their fate had begun to unravel. What was that? Was it a headache? Was it a migraine? That first time they'd kissed, it'd shaken Carrot so much and he'd seemed in so much pain, and it'd hurt Marron so keenly to think that he'd caused that; his own personal imperatives, protect Carrot, love Carrot, make sure Carrot isn't hurt, punish self if he is, punish self further if said pain came from his own hands. Just to watch Carrot was punishment enough; he'd cried through the night much harder than he ever had at a nightmare of he and Sacher; what was it that moved him so terribly?

Not only had the pain made Carrot cry; the pain was terrible but so was the frustration; something dared to rise within him on contact with Marron, something more than mere arousal. Something deeper than that. More painful. More serious.

It had to last for as long as possible. Orgasm was orgasm and Carrot had brought himself off in less than a minute or two on some occasions, but _this_... this was more than that, was more special, was more significant... and then the thoughts that Carrot was _always_ aware of, the thoughts that caused Carrot to shed tears steadily even _now_... Marron would hush him, kiss and lick his tears away... and that felt so loving and wonderful, but then even _that_ made the situation more painful.

Marron was so caring. So caring, so loving, so soft, so warm, so... so just _everything_ that Carrot felt he could ever want in a person, everything he could ever want in a relationship... nobody else knew him quite like Marron did, did they? Nobody understood him so, nobody was _willing_ to understand him that much... whereas Marron gave so selflessly without requesting anything in return, and it was all Carrot could wish to offer, himself in return for all that Marron ever gave...

For all intents and purposes, it was he himself that Carrot could never even dare hope to give to Marron. The one thing he wished to give more than anything else... to be accepted in the physical, to become that desired one flesh... to give himself to Marron, when his body was the one thing he should never even have dared consider.

The time of that first kiss had been disturbed, anyway. The kiss had been tried, it'd failed, Marron had been attending to Carrot with no idea of what was wrong with his brother, and then the door had opened and it had been those two older Haz Knights. Haz Knights? What business would they have in such a situation? Kahlua had come with a glowing hand signal raised, and had spoken of something being disturbed. Neither Carrot nor Marron could quite comprehend the situation and Shiffon had given Carrot something to help with the headache that had remained for days afterward, but neither Glacé brother really understood the necessity of the senior Haz Knights. Something had been disturbed? Their relationship was really _that_ disturbing?

Carrot pressed his own arms against Marron's, pressing his fingers against where his brother's were now latticed together against his own chest. Marron felt this, moving his fingers to allow for Carrot's to be there also, their embrace broken slightly but their hands held just as powerfully.

The ofuda spread around them glowed faintly into the darkness of the room.

It'd taken something as innocent as holding hands that had alerted Big Mama to the status of their relationship in the first place. Obviously the first person the Haz Knights reported to was Big Mama, but as patient and understanding as she was, she had never been too forceful in her quizzing of their relationship. At first it hadn't seemed anything suspicious at all... just a quiet day, Carrot asleep in Marron's lap, their hands held during this... nobody else had been around and so the brothers had felt safe, and Big Mama had appeared before Marron could say or do anything to dissuade his sleeping brother. She had only smiled at his reaction, "_You would hold his hand while he slept? To have a close relationship like that is a wonderful thing..._", and that had been all she'd said before leaving. Marron hadn't known what to make of that and so had told Carrot afterward... neither could see it as any kind of foreboding action. If anything, surely that was a sign that Big Mama accepted their relationship, as far as she could see it? That had to be a positive thing!

Despite everything about the situation, it felt wonderful. Even if only physically so, it felt wonderful. There had initially been pain, but the pain itself had been a culmination of several kinds, and Carrot had eventually overcome that with Marron's help. He had Gaia magic, he was a master of Eastern magic... he was capable of so much. He was able to calm Carrot down physically, but just to _think_ of Marron's potential, for the years he had not yet lived... those thought were enough to stir Carrot's emotion again.

He trembled so terribly. Marron held him firmly and moved so slowly and every movement seemed to elicit a cry from Carrot, no matter how subtle or small... shared blood, one life, one body, one love, one flesh. Chances seemed so few. Choices also. They didn't have to have made such a finalistic one. That could be forgotten, just for the minutes that would pass of their union... Carrot could feel Marron's hair fall against him, fall over him. He didn't try to move it at all, only savoured that as another feeling he was desperate to remember for as long as his conscious mind would allow him to... and Marron's head was pressed against his, skin to skin, soft occasional nuzzles and a lick and a bite and a series of nibbles... even the stroke of Marron's finger against his forehead caused a deep moan from the core of Carrot's being, or close enough to for him to feel that it didn't matter.

As to the actual core of his being... that was somehow occupied also.

They'd been close, in the past. Things had almost progressed to this point. Kissing was painful but somehow it never quite called the Haz Knights in like it had that first time - Marron was always so concerned, but Carrot would smile and that smile would calm him. It was obviously something they needed to get used to; the more they kissed, the less Carrot's pain became. Eventually they could kiss as they should have always been able to, were able to kiss normally, wonderfully, passionately.

"_Every time I kiss you, it's like a part of me dies,_" he'd said. Marron hadn't known how to react to that; perhaps that was Carrot's attempt at romanticism, but it certainly didn't _seem_ so... he'd enquired further, and Carrot found himself unable to elaborate past that; just that, whenever he kissed Marron, the part of him inside that had prevented that before... something about that would weaken, would fluctuate. It still caused some kind of feeling within him, but every time that particular feeling would become a little more numb, a little more dead. Marron found this curious, but didn't question his brother's clumsy explanations.

Nights would be spent, initially, primarily concerned with speech. Staying up until the early hours talking... often about nothing in particular, but the act in itself was calming. The Glacé brothers would tease each other, speaking of the actions they wished to perform upon each other... Carrot had as much idea as Marron did, but Marron was always so much more eloquent, was always capable of raising such a deep blush from Carrot... Marron would also say such deep things, such romantic things, such things that left Carrot staring at him with such awe while rendered speechless... statements that reached to Carrot's soul. Statements of unleashing power, of unifying their selves, of being together unfettered by anything... of being reduced to incoherence, the passion that encouraged such a loss of sanity... Marron wanted that, and as Marron described it, Carrot wanted it also. He wanted to feel that intensity of feeling, that loss of sense and sanity, be able to find a little piece of eternity in Marron's arms, and other certain parts...

Such liaisons had started with masturbation. Marron would watch Carrot, perhaps contentedly but more likely ravenously; to make such a performance, even if only for each other... perhaps precisely _because_ it was for each other... it was embarrassing, but it was special. They'd condition themselves strictly not to touch each other, just to watch, to let the frustration build... and one time, they had indeed come so close to the physical union they craved.

They'd spent quite some time building each other up. Shameless words were spoken, shameful motions were practiced, and the embarrassment was so potent that they could no longer feel shame. Carrot no longer felt pain on Marron's kisses, and how passionate that kiss had _been_... the two of them had writhed on the bed, quickly divesting each other of their clothes, loathe to separate bodies or limbs or hands or lips for even the brief half-second it would take for a tanktop to be removed, a robe to be unbuttoned... but eventually the clothes had been discarded, half on the floor and half against the bed from where they'd been half-heartedly tossed aside, unimportant and forgotten. The most important thing had been the shared arousal, the shared feeling, that deep _connection_... a part of Carrot already felt dangerously close to _something_, but what that was, he didn't know... he was a virgin as much as Marron was, he felt he could only have a tiny expectation of that he might experience.

Whatever it was he'd experience, that night had not been the time for it. Before it had been the Haz Knights, this time it was Big Mama _herself_... the door had slammed open and she'd cried for them to stop; Carrot and Marron could only do so, mid-embrace as they'd been in.

Marron's little cries were so terribly addicting... to think about _that_, it was easy to think that almost _anything_ of Marron could be addicting, were one inclined to be tempted by it... for too long, Carrot had been tempted by the promise of Marron's body. He'd wanted it, he'd wanted it so badly, he'd wanted it once and again and more and harder and deeper and he couldn't bring himself to deny his emotions any further. Just those moans... those little cries... he made his own noises, but he didn't know what Marron should think of them. Given his temperament likely something similar to his own reactions to the same of his own brother...

It was enough to lie almost entirely still, Marron propped up by the cushions and Carrot propped up by Marron behind and within him, and given the feelings that coursed powerfully and constantly through his body, it was all he could manage to recline against his brother's form. Carrot's head nestled gently on Marron's shoulder, his hands and arms desperate to remain close to the warmth of those around him, one foot hooked over Marron's lower leg, occasionally twitching and stirring his brother into another movement. So languid. They could have been brutal in their passions, and both siblings had dreamt and even talked of such things to points of frustration many times in the past... but when it came to this... when it came to the _now_... brutal could wait. Brutal would be something interesting to explore, but the basis of it...

Both felt somehow heavy; drowsy somehow, yet still wide awake and _aware_... anything else could be forgotten in those moments. The world outside of their bedroom door didn't matter. This didn't concern anybody else, no matter _what_ Big Mama said. Nobody could tell the future, could they? She _could_ have been mistaken, somehow?

There was a feeling there that felt connected yet separate to arousal, to the climax that approached so slowly but yet all too fast. The feelings that Carrot had felt for those kisses way back in the past... if you attacked something enough times, it would eventually fall. If you really tempted someone - or some_thing_ - enough times, surely, again, they would eventually crumble... if the attack was that of subtle desire, eventually the subject would give in, would provide only willing resistance then nothing at all... and just as Carrot had felt something stir and pulsate within him, so did Marron feel an answering call. Something dark and dangerous within him, a part of him that had _always_ been there and alongside him suddenly wishing to separate, to exist, to be _powerful_...

After they had been caught that time, they had been called to see Big Mama privately. She had met them on the gardens and they had stood there awkwardly, Carrot looking annoyed and never directly at Big Mama, Marron blushing faintly for the entire time and quite preoccupied with the grass a few inches from his feet. Likely they'd be in for some kind of scolding for their actions... you're too young, you're both men, you're brothers, that's wrong, it's disgusting, if the situation were of either of you and a Misu sister it'd be perfectly fine but since it's you two I'm going to reprimand you. Anything like that was expected, and the both of them quietly awaited her voice.

She hadn't been able to look at them either. Far from sounding angry or disappointed in the Glacé brothers... she sounded more sad and somehow _wistful_ than anything else.

"_Your union... is one that is forbidden._"

A nice way of putting it, but nothing unexpected. Marron hadn't said anything to that, expecting something more, expecting the more scathing analysis of their actions... Carrot had been annoyed, shouting so angrily at Big Mama. Marron had tried to calm Carrot down, saying that Big Mama surely had reason for her actions... and indeed, if it was something that was accepted then surely it would be so different. Incest was likely considered deviant for a reason, though they themselves hadn't been able to see it; if Big Mama forbade their actions, then surely she would have a very good reason for it.

Carrot had called her all sorts of things, saying it was her problem if she couldn't accept it, that she wouldn't end up on the case if Gateau and Marron were at it, that it was always _him_ at the root of the problem, and that he wouldn't accept it - even if Big Mama didn't like what they were doing, well. She didn't have to pay attention, did she? Keep the door locked, keep it quiet, _nobody_ had to know. Private lives were called such for a reason, weren't they?

A little cry... one of pleasure, one of pain? Marron wasn't quite sure, but held Carrot as tight as he dared all the same. Every movement, every cry from his brother seemed to stir some kind of feeling within him... their bodies together in such a complete way made Marron's body tremble with each breath he took... and it _was_ such a complete thing. Physically and mentally Marron felt so terribly; finally, he was united with his brother. Finally they were together like how they'd dreamed of for so long. Everything had always been for Carrot, every feeling, every action, every motion, every emotion... for too long they had had such similar ideas and such a close relationship able to be signified only through holding hands and talking of what they might one day do and now they were _doing_ it and as well as the mind it was the body too, and it made Marron feel so light-headed. He was scared, too. Scared that it might not only be the combination of his own feelings making him feel so. Worried of what _else_ he might find inside his brother other than their shared completion.

It had been a little scary to see someone get so angry at Big Mama, to see Carrot so heated like that. After all, she was the ruler of the entire Continent, was she not? At least the main religious figurehead. Saint Mama, some looked upon her as... at that moment, Carrot could only look on her with contempt. She didn't understand. She _couldn't_ understand. It wasn't as if she was human like everybody else, being so high and mighty it wasn't like _she_ could feel the normal little things that kept the subjects below her trudging from day to day life no matter what... it wasn't as if _she_ had any brothers or sisters to even have an _inkling_ of what Carrot's feelings for Marron might actually be like.

That had stirred her emotion. In fact, more than anything she knew Carrot's feelings, knew the love for a brother, knew the desperation, knew the hopelessness, knew the _loss_. She too had had a brother once; this had come as such a shock to Marron, and especially so to Carrot. If she had had a brother... where was he now? What kind of brother would Big Mama have had? What kind of feelings would she have felt for him, and just what kind of loss had been involved?

Words had long since stopped forming on Carrot's lips. His body felt as if it were burning with so many tumultuous feelings all at once - he wanted Marron to move, he wanted Marron to move again, to move _more_... he wanted Marron to hold him tightly and unleash his passions, he wanted to be held gently and taken softly... every thought process seemed to change and multiply with each passing second, and all that Carrot could be aware of was all of the things that Marron was, and was doing to him. He could be so calm, despite their knowledge. He could still be so loving, still be so giving, so selfless...

Could this action really embody all that they felt for each other? Was there anything further than being able to give themselves to each other so entirely? There was a finalistic knowledge in that this was it, there was nothing more than this, and there would be nothing more afterward.

This had to be that outward symbol of inward feeling. There could be nothing else.

In another state of mind, Marron may have wondered just what it was about _this_ action that made it more forbidden than the others. The kiss, also... the two brothers had known each other all their life, and it wasn't as if physical contact stirred anything _like_ those things. To hold hands, that was alright? To hug, that was accepted, wasn't it? Even a childish peck on the cheek hadn't made anything painful or bad happen, back in the hazy past... were it not for the emotions involved, would even the sexual act in itself have been anything significant? There were thousands if not millions of people on the Continent. Either Glacé brother could have had sex with any one of those people. As far as people on the Spooner Continent went, they were only but two; what was it about _them_ that made them so different? What was it, other than their blood relation, that made things so forbidden? Back at that time, Carrot had doubted there a reason other than prejudice. As things had turned out, there was in fact a very real and dangerous reason for Big Mama's concern - and indeed, more than anything else, she was _concerned_. Not angry, not prejudiced, but in actuality very worried for the lives of her two young Sorcerer Hunters.

"_The Tenrinoh Yaksha within you, Marron, is the King of the Cycle. The God of Rebirth._"

Impressive words and titles, but nothing that Marron and Carrot were not already aware of. Carrot had made to yell again, ask just what that had to do with anything, but feeling a horrible sense of foreboding, Marron had held Carrot back with an arm and a soft word and bid Big Mama to continue.

"_... And Hakaishin, within you, Carrot... the God of Destruction._"

She had looked at them so sadly.

"_Nothing can come of this union_."

Carrot still failed to see what the point in such statements were. True, they had gods inside them. They'd known this for a long time. As far as things went, the gods inside them were always there and sometimes mentioned, but only few actions had ever stirred them... the events with Sacher, those had almost awoken Hakaishin. Almost. The other gods hadn't been seen, but Marron at least knew there were times when he felt very aware of Yaksha within him. Not quite another conscious being within him, but some kind of feeling that ran alongside and inside his own body, who's soul beat alongside his heart. It was a hard feeling to explain, but Marron knew it without question.

As Carrot arched back against him slightly, Marron felt once again very aware of the god within him. Feelings so strong they could dislodge such a part of one's soul... Carrot's cries were more desperate now, and his movements seemed skittish; his body twitched and his hips jerked, and as much as he'd submit to Marron's gentle hold he seemed to wish to stir things further... Marron felt a desperate sense of displacement, felt like he wanted to hold Carrot like this _forever_... how long could it last for? How long was forever? However long it was, it didn't seem like it could ever, _ever_ be enough.

Again, Carrot had loudly cried his opinion at Big Mama. Nothing could come of their union? Surely so, but what were they expecting from sex anyway? Babies? What did _anybody_ expect from such a relationship in the first place? All they wanted to do was physically express their feelings, was that too much to ask? Apparently it was.

The balance of the gods inside the Sorcerer Hunters was apparently only very fragile. This had been proved on that occasion when Gateau died, that time... he'd died at the hands of his sister, his sacrifice had been meaningful in itself, but just the fact that he had died had been enough to stir Hakaishin within Carrot, and only through very risky methods had the calamity that could have befallen the earth managed to be averted.

The gods, as they were, had once had personalities. Back during the time of gods and demons, back when they had existed in their element outside of merely residing in souls, there had been fights and disputes and battles and arguments. Nobody ever said that gods had to be reasonable. Big Mama had tried to explain her words further; Yaksha was the Rebirth God, Hakaishin was the Destruction God. Perhaps the basic principle was that opposites attracted but the basic logic of it was that their union, as she described it, could be most likened to attempting to force two north-facing magnets together. There were paths which the Hunters were destined to follow, and she had hoped that the danger that awaited them on other paths would steer them safely on their predestined path.

So how were they supposed to know what their predestined path was? Big Mama told them of how it was her job to guide her children, and that surely the inner soul would guide Carrot on his way... after all, his first kiss with Marron had repelled him quite fiercely. Were there not other people he had kissed in the past who had not stirred such violent feelings within him?

In that, the answer was obvious.

Was it enough to accept a predestined fate? Was it alright to know that their very feelings put enough in danger to reason that it would be best to abandon them? Before, they could have argued that the world was against them. Now it seemed that Big Mama's words spoke that to be literally so.

In any case, the Misu sisters were basically tender and nice, though also bad-tempered and painful when they wanted to be. Oh, but they did all that they did out of love, they did it because they were possessive of Carrot, because they wanted to tame him to their ideals, because he needed sense beaten into him with a wire and a whip...

Carrot's feelings for the Misu sisters were confused at best, and when presented with either of them with the choice of them or nobody else, this did not lessen Carrot's anger any. Was he truly not the master of his own destiny? Just how much of his life had been decided before he had any true say in the matter? What was the point in living in hope when everything but the 'right' singular decision led to ruin?

The physical was forbidden to them through risk and balances of power. All it took would be for a vessel to die, and Hakaishin would be incensed enough to rise once more. The nature of their souls meant that a sexual encounter between the Sorcerer Hunters, any of them, would have some kind of effect. What kind of effect would be hard to say and would rely on who encountered who, but certainly some pairings were more volatile than others.

For a brief moment, the anger had subsided in favour of a hopeless tone, "_It's... all because of me... isn't it...?_"

Big Mama had closed her eyes, feeling pained to hear those words, but almost unable to deny them... better than to deny them would be to reason with the child, "_You couldn't help the circumstances of your birth. You cannot help that which resides so deeply within your soul...!_"

This did not please the elder Glacé brother, "_Maybe I never asked to be born...! At least not like this... I definitely definitely never asked to have a fucking Destruction God within me...!_"

Carrot had shouted his loudest and most venomous at that point, directing his most hateful glare at Big Mama, then running pointedly away from her. His exit had signalled Marron's own, chasing after Carrot with a concerned call of his brother's title. Big Mama had retreated back to her own private quarters, alone. For that which had been inflicted upon Shallot... for that which had been inflicted upon Apricot, and therefore onto her children... whether the influence was direct or caused in sequence, the lives of those innocent children had been forever altered and in some cases near enough destroyed due to her actions. She had felt guilty in the past, she felt guilty now, she'd feel guilty in the future. Was her guilt enough to feel? Her sins were those which could never be atoned. All she could do was observe.

If they truly wished to fight their destiny, she felt powerless to stop them. She had no right to prevent them that.

All would surely be swallowed by destruction. If things could be reborn, if somebody continued to live, then there would always be hope and there would always be the potential - but if rebirth itself let itself be claimed by destruction, then the sentiment was gone and all was surely lost.

Another powerful shudder, and Marron's hands went to Carrot's shoulders. Their curve seemed to fit so perfectly beneath his fingers, but it seemed that that motion wasn't enough... it was forbidden and it was wrong, they both knew it so, and if they were going to attempt to defy their fate then Carrot wanted to do so entirely safe in the knowledge that his brother would support him in every way. He pulled Marron's hands back down to around his chest, feeling comforted for those arms around him.

Carrot opened his eyes, barely able to make out anything in the bedroom, but able to see Marron's face slightly above his. He looked up, Marron looked down, their gaze met... was there anything more to say? Was there anything more that _could_ be said?

Looking at Marron, really _looking_ at him at that moment... surely this wasn't so terrible? The tremors within Carrot's body disturbed him, but... Big Mama said herself that the reactions of pairings were hard to gauge... nobody had ever proved for definite that their path would lead to the destruction of the world or anything, had they? Besides, hadn't they been disturbed, before? The Haz Knights, Big Mama... this time nobody had disturbed them. Perhaps it was like the kiss, it'd started off terribly, but after a while the effect lessened... perhaps that slight loss of feeling was the feeling of something building rather than being taken away...

Carrot squeezed Marron's hand; he was scared. He didn't want Big Mama's words or logic to be true, he didn't want any of it to be true... he wanted to be with Marron, and no matter what, he was determined to _be_ with Marron. Really, what _was_ the point if things had been decided before he was even born? Were he and his friends, his family, everybody on the Continent - were they only puppets? If they were so controlled by the influence of the deities inside them... who controlled the influence of the inner gods? Was there such a further existence? Could anything ever be said to be truly free-willed of it's own existence?

Another soft cry, and Carrot could see the worry far too plainly in Marron's eyes, too... he leant up and nuzzled his brother slightly, attempting a smile. If this _was_ a path that would lead to ruin, if they really _had_ chosen a path to lead not only themselves but the very world around them to damnation, then surely they should at least enjoy it while they still had dominion enough over their own bodies to do so...

Another shuddering arch. Worry and mental feelings aside, it _did_ feel wonderful, incredibly so... it had never been enough to settle for the smaller things, those had always felt like some kind of prelude... even one of Marron's kisses held enough potential to send Carrot reeling. Marron could be so restrained at times, but then he showed such emotion... it was when his emotion was ever so slightly in check that moved Carrot the most. When Marron touched himself slowly under Carrot's gaze, his own dark eyes pleading for more violent stimulation... when Marron had him pressed against a wall and was kissing him, softly and gently but waiting for the merest implication to move further to move quicker... he always waited for Carrot, but the waiting was delicious in itself. Carrot had thrown Marron to the bed this time, alighting Marron's feelings from the outset... then a slow kiss, the movements so gentle, and Marron _knew_. Maybe it was foolish to try and fight such a hopeless destiny, but damn if they weren't going to _try_. Nobody ever changed anything by just sitting back and accepting the things that they so sorely wanted changed.

Looking down at Carrot, Marron himself felt twisted on the inside. Looking down at his brother's wide eyes... he saw the searching gaze, knew his brother's glance for confirmation... it was hard to remain so calm. He wanted to press his fingers to Carrot's skin until he bruised the tanned flesh, marked Carrot for his and got to keep him for as _long as he wanted_... for _ever_... for _longer_ than that... somewhere beyond time, somewhere beyond feeling, somewhere beyond the senses... just the two of them, just together...

Marron's whisper was soft and somewhat emotional.

"... They told us not to... but we did... we have... we _are_..."

Another shifting on the bed as Carrot tried to lean his head back enough to look Marron in the eye; he nodded, "Hnmn... they... _she_... she's not said anything... not come in... 'd say is safe..."

The tug of Carrot's leg stirred Marron into movement once more, softly moving his hips in a steady gyration. Carrot's murmurs of delight at that were Marron's reward, but even just those small sounds made Marron feel just the _slightest_ edge of guilt... he could never feel guilty for what he was doing, Carrot accepted their actions just as much as he himself did, and if there were any blame to be taken then Marron was fully prepared to accept entire responsibility... but that was the thing, that was something he worried about. If it was something they needed to be punished for... if he _couldn't_ take Carrot's punishment for him... he absently stroked fronds of Carrot's hair away from his ears to whisper against and into them, "Niisan... should there perhaps not be... might I not have tempted you too far...?"

Carrot's self-assured little smirk and easy mocking tone caused an altogether more pleasant tremor within Marron's body, "Oh, and I didn't tempt you at all, did I?"

Marron decided not to reply to that, "It's not too late... we could stop now... if you wanted..."

A shaking of the head, "S'far too late for that... couldn'ta stopped even an hour ago if you'd asked me... _ayhnnn-_!"

A sharper cry; Carrot was right, it was far too late. Far too late to even consider stopping... if nothing else, even with the best will in the world, neither Glacé brother could have brought themselves to stop at that moment. Even in, as it was, a case of such danger... but it was something they had to do. To love each other wasn't terrible, was it? At the most basic level, all it was was sex; good or bad, sex was not, as much as it may have been hard for Carrot to admit, the be-all and end-all of things. The physical contact, the physical joining, the shared bodily fluids... it wasn't like things so insignificant as that would cause the next coming of the apocalypse, was it? If they'd chosen to drive sacrificial knives into their chests on orgasm or something then perhaps the danger was there, but... just sex, surely not?

"_... Tenrinoh Yaksha..._"

Another cry from Carrot, more a cry of pain than before; his hands went from where they'd held Marron's arms and hands with such determination to the sides of his head, pressing tightly against his skin... Marron swept one arm across Carrot's chest and the other over Carrot's fingers, "Niisan! Niisan-...?"

"Nn_nnnhhnnnn_-.... nn..."

"Niisan-... niisan, answer me! We... we _can_ stop... if it's hurting you so badly... if it's so terrible, then surely it's not worth it to risk so much..."

As quickly as he'd fallen into his little painful moment, Carrot snapped out of it and shook his head.

"It's worth it... Marron... see, I'm okay now...! It... to be able for us to have control of... of stuff we do... for us to be able to... to... to do things... it's worth it... no matter what, I want to do this... it's worth it... _you're_ worth it..."

Marron buried his face between Carrot's shoulder and neck, "I'm not so wonderful that it's worth risking everything for... we could be happy in different ways... would we need to risk everything to be only brothers...?"

Carrot almost snarled, "Marron, you _are_ worth it...! Sure we could be happy in different ways but if we can be happy in different ways, then can't the others be too? World ain't gonna end just 'cause I chose you, I won't _let_ that happen! You want me just as much as I want you and don't deny it 'cause I _know_ you'd be lying, would you _really_ want to settle to be... to be just brothers?"

Momentarily shocked by Carrot's burst of coherence, Marron closed his eyes and stroked at Carrot's hair, his movements and actions at odds to his words and sentiments.

"Risking everything because of me... so foolhardy..."

"You'd rather I didn't?"

Marron's tone had fallen into a soft kind of acceptance, somewhere between that and a regret he barely dared allow himself to feel.

"Never... never... I just... can't think of how I could consider myself worth such a thing..."

Carrot reached one of his arms around Marron's neck, "You're worth it. You're so incredibly, _incredibly_ worth it..."

It felt such a wickedly sinful thought, but on hearing words like that from Carrot, Marron couldn't help but consider, just for a second, that it was alright; it was acceptable to be so rash and take such risks, the rest of the world could wait and cope with the situation as it would, because to receive such praise from his beloved brother... to hear such words, to have them in memory to recall them... to be in that situation, to be in that _bed_... maybe there was indeed nothing past that, but at that moment, Marron couldn't mind that in the slightest.

If only that feeling could have been forever...

If only that moment could have been eternity...

Words were left behind once more, and the physical preoccupied again, as it was apt to do. Feeling as flushed as his brother looked, Marron pulled Carrot down into a sidewards lean against the bed, taking advantage of Carrot exposing his neck during that movement to lay his own upon it; Carrot moaned so wonderfully on those little licks and kisses, the grazing of teeth and the momentary focused rush of power that came from sucking at Carrot's neck, hearing his gasped cry, pulling back, seeing the mark left there... a mark that branded, a mark that proved, a mark that would remain there for anybody to see, were there anybody left afterward _to_ see...

"_Had I been given the opportunity to claim you..._"

Carrot cried out again, not quite from the pleasant feelings Marron was inflicting upon him. There was something altogether stronger happening within him... his body trembled and he moaned just for the light feeling of the bed's sheets against the front of him, but... he'd heard a voice and that voice had _not_ been Marron. There felt like there was a rip inside him, a tear... from somewhere within that was a _voice_, and the voice pained Carrot just to hear it.

"..._ then perhaps I may have been granted the ultimate power over you..._"

Concentrate on Marron. Concentrate on Marron. He was already so concerned and so worried, so much so to consider stopping what they were doing... no, Carrot wouldn't accept that! Even if Marron made to stop, made a serious move away, Carrot resolved not to let him. They had to do this. This _had_ to be done. Nobody else could do it for them, and if they didn't then there would be no other choice, no other path to follow... against the dark voice within him shone the will to be able to prove predestination wrong, to be able to have the opportunity to _choose_... and to be able to choose, he was determined to choose _Marron_...

"... _yet you dare to claim me, to use me for your ends..._"

Their movements had become more focused for the onward march of time. For all his moments spent lying still with Carrot resting against him, Marron seemed to rediscover the joy of movement. He still had Carrot held across the chest but now was pressing him more down against the mattress, one hand ruffled through Carrot's hair from his forehead, and his lips and teeth still leaving their marks on Carrot's delectable neck; to be able to mark his whole body in such a way... to have the chance to explore, to be able to do such a dream... that hope gave Marron a slight strength, even though he was _sure_ he could feel something altogether more foreboding from his brother's body. Carrot continued to cry and moan, but then some cries would hold an edge to them that Marron didn't sense from the others... he felt as if he were holding something brilliant and shining, a beautiful dream that at any moment feared to be cruelly extinguished...

"... _I am made subordinate..._"

Carrot's heartbeat pounded in his chest, Marron could feel it so strongly against his hand. To be able to feel his brother's heartbeat... it was a comforting rhythm, understandably hurried for the situation and the emotion associated with it. Ah, but for Carrot's heart to be beating, for his chest to expand and contract with each harried breath... for him to cry and moan, for his hand to shoot out over the bed and grip the sheets tightly with shaking, _trembling_ fingers... all of those things were signs that Carrot was alive. His body itself was warm beneath Marron's own, warm in some places and so much hotter in others...

"... _but your power cannot best me... you know that, do you not?_"

Which part of Carrot contained Hakaishin within it? Moving with strong, slow strokes, Marron hazily wondered. Was there a physical place that could be said to hold the Destruction God within his brother? Was his entire body infused with the essence of that being, or was there a particular place where he was bound? Could Hakaishin be physically touched? What kind of being was he to be an essence or a physical identity in the first place? All Marron could concentrate on was that the being below him, the body and emotions and everything else, belonged to Carrot, his brother. It was Carrot beneath him. It was Carrot he was inside, it was Carrot who was willing to sacrifice literally everything on his behalf... that thought again made Marron feel relieved in ways he felt he perhaps shouldn't have allowed himself to feel.

All of his life, Marron knew he would have given anything - everything, if needs be - for his brother. This situation was no different to that, and in his heart, he knew it. This wasn't something that could be done with a half-hearted will, but Marron wasn't in possession of anything like _that_... if his body was what Carrot needed to achieve control of his own destiny, then he was willing to give it. In any way Carrot needed him, he was willing to give himself.

Inside, Marron _knew_ there was something happening. Something other than the tremor of arousal that echoed throughout his body and reached for communication and existence... it seemed almost timed to Carrot's desperate cries, whenever there was one of those more _painful_ cries, Marron felt something akin to a double-heartbeat within himself, as if his own blood was second-guessing itself...

"_Treasure your moment of dominance, Tenrinoh Yaksha._"

"_I will._"

Power ripped through Marron's body like an electrical surge; Carrot was pinned fully to the bed, and Marron cried out louder than even Carrot had done so previously. That fact in itself truly scared Carrot, and he felt a sudden frightening doubt in his mind - they _would_ do it, wouldn't they? They _would_ be able to work against fate, to path their own way, wouldn't they? _Wouldn't_ they? Voice trembling, Carrot moved his shoulders to try to stir his brother's tongue again.

"Marron-!... Marron, you... you okay, there?"

The seconds of silence didn't help Carrot's petrification, but then Marron made a gasping sort of noise, nodding his head. Carrot felt the movement then heard Marron's voice, and relief flooded his body.

"Y-yes... niisan..."

Technically Marron sounded far from being 'okay', but being conscious and able to speak was good enough for Carrot. Marron himself replenished his hold on Carrot, repeating his mantra of wanting to stay forever close to Carrot in his mind. For a moment he'd lost any control he'd ever had over his body, and he'd _felt_ something within him, felt it _talk_... moreso, it'd _replied_ to something... there was something inside his body and it could talk, and with the knowledge that he had he _knew_ it could only be one thing, and that if there was something inside his body that was answering another... he knew all too well what it was within his brother's body that may have required an answer.

Determined to retain his humanity for as long as Carrot required it, Marron steeled his resolve and preoccupied himself with the things he enjoyed about his brother's wonderfully close physical proximity. To have Carrot's strength and unwavering optimism... Marron wished he could have that. He hoped and he wished so fervently, but being able to _believe_ was something different entirely...

Things seemed, on the side of the strange inner powers, suddenly quiet. Almost ominously so. Marron's heartbeat pounded in his chest, but that was all that he felt there... the feeling he had was the kind of feeling he had on a normal day, suddenly nothing seemed out of place. Was that his inner being conquered, or was this merely the calm before the storm? Carrot was shuddering and whimpering beneath him, and there were other, more important things to consider.

"Niisan... niisan, are you... are you alright...?"

A quick nod against the bedsheets, then Carrot's voice, quiet and as scared as he'd felt just a few moments previous.

"A-alright, but... but... can't... can't keep it back... any longer...!"

His voice seemed to keen during that sentence, and Marron realised with dull surprise that, yes, they _were_ still in the middle of their sexual act, and more than anything else, arousal still played itself on he and his brother's mind... then Carrot took hold of Marron's hand, fingers entwined fiercely into it, and brought it against his lips to kiss nervously before making his final request.

"... F-... finish... me..."

Marron nodded his silent agreement to Carrot's neck, and doubled in his actions to bring his brother to the climax he craved; it seemed simple enough, and it _was_ something he could manage, wasn't it? Both siblings had been virgins, but both had at least had experience of orgasm before... surely there wasn't much that was different between orgasm for the benefit of another and an orgasm that was shared, was there? His own feelings were building just as quickly and surely as Carrot's were... yes... he would bring his brother to orgasm... he would feel his own... their climax would be their proof...

There was a dark rush of feeling through the Glacé brothers, and a sudden sound that neither could place, but both could hear. Marron held Carrot at his tightest as his body began to succumb to the climax he craved to give to his brother... his eyes were tightly closed, but he could see _something_ still... at first as if hidden behind a mist, but then suddenly clear. A face. A _certain_ face. Almost Carrot, but... that wasn't Carrot... was it?... No... but it was still, however... a part of him...

"_I claim you._"

That voice, clearer than anything. Marron froze as if paralysed, then curled up tightly against Carrot as much as he could manage, barely aware of his actions. The brothers had craved the loss of sanity that came at such a peak, but Marron really _couldn't_ control himself, and what remained of himself to consider this was terrified. To be in such a situation with Carrot could never be so frightening, but to see _that face_ and hear _that voice_, it was as if... it was as if Marron had looked upon the face of the devil. A devil that took hold of his body even as he considered it, that threatened to absorb the power and strength from his body and take it as his own... Marron's hips trembled with finalistic thrusts, pressing Carrot deeply into the bed and drawing such desperate cries from his lungs, but Marron _couldn't_ hear him... there was a mist descending around his body, and he couldn't control anything. He gripped Carrot tighter than he'd ever dared previously, this time moving on desperate reflex more than anything else.

To stay close to Carrot... to be with Carrot...

... To be with him _forever_...

There was something controlling his body, and he couldn't do anything anymore. As much as the thought was a contradiction, Marron felt he had to trust the demonic power he could sense... if that power was controlling him, then it needed to control him to breathe and keep his heart beating, because suddenly he felt that such things were impossible by himself...

... But that power had been a part of Carrot... so surely somehow... some kindness could remain...?

"... ni... i... sa... n..."

Every syllable seemed a struggle to pronounce, but to say Carrot's title, to let Carrot _know_ he was there... Carrot was still there, wasn't he? Marron could feel his hands still clenched around Carrot's shoulders, felt the softness of Carrot's hair against his cheek, but to be able to _see_... then to feel... what was it to feel? Climax had ripped itself from his body, and more alongside that. He felt so tired. Something _more_ than tired.

There could have been something to say in reply to Marron's utterance, but the darkness that caused Carrot to stir from consciousness and out of it made it difficult to come up with anything that was appropriate. To speak Marron's name... could he even speak? Would Marron hear him? Marron's grip was still so tight. Yes, that was right. Marron would stay with him, Marron would stay strong for him, Marron would remain with him and they _would_ beat the terrors that threatened to consume them, and they would _prove_ that destiny was something that they could decide. Something they could decide, and something that they could decide _together_. For _themselves_.

The strength and the hold around Carrot's shoulders failed suddenly. Strength left Marron's body, and suddenly, any kind of conscious feeling at all left Carrot's own upon that realization. At the very least, Tenrinoh Yaksha's seal, and therefore the entire protection in itself upon Hakaishin, had been broken.

At most, the Glacé brothers had failed.

The darkness was no longer confined to their own bedroom; for Marron and Carrot, it was over.

For everybody else on the Spooner Continent... it had only just begun.

~_fin_~

20th November 2004


End file.
